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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25272532">warning shot</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ARGONAVIS from BanG Dream! AAside (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, Gender or Sex Swap, Subtle threats of violence, Warning: Kanata being Kanata, everyones a girl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:14:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,923</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25272532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ren is familiar with Haruka, but this is the first time she's talked to her little sister.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>warning shot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the AAside Artists Discord's Weekly Challenge. When I got my prompt to write about genderbent Ren and Kanata, I had an idea right away so I wrote it up! I hope you get a kick out of it</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Nanahoshi-senpai!"</p><p>It wasn't a surprise that Ren didn't recognize the energetic voice calling after her. Although she'd gained a lot of friends and acquaintances after joining Argonavis, she was still shy and quiet when it came to university. Sometimes her classmates recognized her from DesFes, or one of their videos online, or just wanted to talk to her about something from class.</p><p>Once Ren turned around, however, she instantly placed the girl running up to her. She was wearing the uniform for high school students and her light-green hair pulled back into a half-up ponytail, showing off her cute and cheerful face. But even if Ren recognized Kanata Nijo, the bassist for Epsilon Phi, that didn't mean she understood why she was calling out to her.</p><p>"Kanata-chan, right?" she asked, carefully. Ren was far more acquainted with her older twin. While many people seemed to consider Haruka unapproachable, Ren found her more reticent nature a little familiar and comfortable. In an amazing coincidence, she'd caught Haruka humming along to the opening of Star Five on the campus and immediately decided to talk to her. They didn't meet up frequently or talk to each other every day or hang out, but - every Sunday morning, Ren's phone beeped one time from the text message, <em>Did you watch it? </em></p><p>Even over text, Haruka wasn't very talkative, but she seemed happy to exchange thoughts and theories for an hour or so, until the chat went dead once again for the next week. Discounting last Sunday, anyway. The regular message hadn't come, and when Ren nervously sent, <em>Haruka-chan, did you watch it</em><em>?</em> she immediately received: <em>Sorry, something came up</em>.</p><p>The worry returned, needling at her now that she'd thought of it. "How's your big sister doing?"</p><p>"Big Sis? Oh, she's the same-old!" Kanata waved away her concerns with a big smile. Then, she came closer, voice lowering in volume. "Actually, she's what I wanted to talk to you about. The truth is that we're in crunch time for LR Fest. Shuu dumped a <em>bunch</em> of new songs on us and we're practicing overtime. On top of that, exams are coming up and, well..."</p><p>"Ah, of course!" Epsilon Phi wasn't the only band feeling the heat as far as the upcoming event was concerned. Wataru and Rio had been stressing out over arranging some new compositions and everyone wanted to be in their best shape. Sometimes Ren felt like she ought to be doing way more to help out the band, and other times it was all she could do keep her head up between classwork and the band's activities. She could only imagine it was just as bad, if not worse, for a middle and high school band!</p><p>Kanata laughed, looking a little relieved. "So you get it? Big Sis has always been a little shy when talking to people, so she didn't have the heart to say she's not going to have time to watch her hero shows on the weekend or talk to you about it."</p><p>"Oh, I see..." Ren had wondered if that was the cause of her missing the episode, but she hadn't received an answer when she asked - nor had she really expected one. It was a little sad to think she'd lose her watch-buddy until after LR fest, but it hardened her resolve to give her all for the show. ...Of course, she wouldn't go so far as skipping her Sunday morning relaxation time. Ren hadn't expected Kanata to know about her and Haruka's friendship (was that too strong of a word?), but no matter how different they appeared at first glance, the two of them were still twin sisters. She supposed they had to be close! Curious, she asked, "Do you like Tokusatsu too, Kanata-chan?"</p><p>Kanata's eyebrows shot up at that, like she couldn't believe what she was asking. "Pfff, no way! The effects are so lame and its clearly made for little kids... I don't get how a girl your age could still get into it. You must really be a child at heart, Nanahoshi-senpai!" Kanata's words were harsh despite her pleasant tone and wide grin, but Ren had heard similar sentiment many times over before.</p><p> "I think they have some universal and timeless messages that appeal to people of all ages." Though the reply was almost automatic at this point, it was truly what she thought. "I really believe there's a Toku show out there that suits every person in the world!"</p><p>Kanata's mouth twitched at the edge, turning into a kind of pained smile. "I'll pass for now."</p><p>"Really? That's too bad." It made sense that Kanata wasn't willing to accept so easily. If a big fan like Haruka was her older sister, she'd probably seen all the best shows already. Still, Ren couldn't help but add, "If you ever change your mind, I'll be happy to give you some recommendations! Maybe even after LR Fest, we could all get together and have a big marathon. You, me and Haruka-chan!"</p><p>There was a brief moment of silence as Kanata looked her. She seemed to be thinking, trying to determine something - not about whether or not that she wanted to accept the offer, but about Ren herself. Suddenly, she fretted internally. Was she being too forward? Even if she was acquainted with her sister, it wasn't like she was close at all to Kanata...</p><p>"...I'll think about it," Kanata finally said. It was a better answer than Ren thought she'd get after that long silence. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know on Big Sis's behalf! Oh, you probably shouldn't bother texting her either. You know how bad she is with it, so I doubt she'd get back to you anyway."</p><p>"Ah..." Well, it was true that Haruka barely texted even about their shows, but not contacting her at all felt pretty cold after she'd gotten used to the weekly ritual. She didn't want to distract her or bother her either, if Haruka was trying to focus, so Ren decided to compromise. "I'll just wish her good luck, then. Is that all you needed, Kanata-chan?"</p><p>"Yeah." Kanata's grip on her school bag tightened. She nodded, her voice pitching up lightly as she said, "Yeah, just that! See ya next time, Nanahoshi-senpai!"</p><p>"Yes, until next time." Ren turned away with those words and pulled her phone out of her bag to check the time. Hopefully she wouldn't have to run to catch the bus...</p><p>It was at that moment that she felt a strange fluttering sensation on her back. Ren instinctively shuddered and jerked around, craning to look over her shoulder and - found Kanata right behind her, drawing back her hand. "Huh?!" Ren was startled by coming face to face with her and stepped back. "Is something wrong?"</p><p>"Haha, sorry, Nanahoshi-senpai." She sounded deeply amused by the way Ren panicked, but her smile still didn't seem to quite reach her eyes. "I was just trying to get rid of a bug."</p><p>"O-oh..." That explained it, didn't it? Ren shook off the uncomfortable feeling. "Thank you, Kanata-chan! I'll get going now."</p>
<hr/><p>"I'm home!"</p><p>Wataru was at the dining room table, pouring over a notebook. From this distance Ren couldn't tell whether it was something for a class or her lyrics. The others weren't due back for a while longer today - Yuuto still had class, Banri was at her part-time job, and Rio was running errands. Ren hoped she'd have enough time to finish her homework before it was time to help prep dinner. Rio did the majority of the work when it came to cooking, so it was the least Ren could do to help as much as she could! Even if it was just peeling potatoes, or washing vegetables.</p><p>As she turned to put away her bag, she heard Wataru let out a gasp, and clamber out of her chair. "Ren, what happened?!"</p><p>"Huh?" Ren blinked.</p><p>Wataru was there in a moment, wearing a concerned expression. Her frown deepened and she said, low and serious. "It's... It looks like someone cut your hair, Ren."</p><p>What? Ren's heart sped up and sunk like a rock into her stomach. She hoped Wataru was somehow mistaken about what she was seeing, but all of a sudden, she could feel it. That her head was just a bit lighter in an unfamiliar way, how the back of her neck was a little colder, more exposed. Wataru carefully pushed the section of hair over her left shoulder, where Ren could see it for herself.</p><p>"A-Ah," was all Ren could say, staring at the sizeable gap. She quickly tried to soothe herself, running her fingers through her hair in a nervous habit. It had the opposite effect, as they quickly slipped through to open air where it had been cut away. It really wasn't that bad, she told herself, just an inch-wide gap in her waist-length hair. "It's just a little trim," she said, seeing Wataru's grave expression. "I'll just go to the hairdresser right away and have them fix it up for me. Ha ha, I was just thinking I wanted change up my image anyway. Nayuta-chan looks really cool with her bob, you know?" Ren was babbling now, and the way Wataru's brow only creased further told Ren that she wasn't doing as well of a job hiding the swirling dread in her gut.</p><p>"Ren," Wataru said firmly. She reached out and gripped her hand, and Ren only now realized it was shaking. "I know how much you took care of your hair." Ren froze at those words. She thought of her grandmother, who always used to comb through her hair with such a gentle manner, cooing over how thick and lovely it was. Even when Ren had considered a new hairstyle for her debut in college, Grandma had made her promise not to cut it - as if she'd ever thought of it for a second.</p><p>Her eyes burned, thinking of how she would react, thinking that Ren had broken that promise.</p><p>"Some creep must have done this." The anger was clear in Wataru's voice, but she calmed herself and started to ask for more information before she could get too upset. "Did anyone strange approach you today? On the bus or on the way home from school?"</p><p>"No, no one. I don't know what -" Ren's words died in her throat. The only person she'd felt get that close to her was Kanata, at the end of their conversation. She'd felt an odd tickle on her back, but she'd easily accepted Kanata's excuse without suspecting a thing.</p><p>"Ren?"</p><p>Ren could feel her hand trembling again. The quaver crawled up her arm, over her shoulders and down her spine, nesting in the pit of her stomach until she was shivering all over. The memory of Kanata's expression came her mind; it was halfway between amusement and something else she couldn't place at the time, but now realized was a look one gave something that only incited disgust.</p><p>
  <em>I was just getting rid of a bug.</em>
</p><p>Her breathing hitched. Wataru grabbed her, pulling Ren to her chest. "It's okay," she said. "You're safe now, Ren."</p><p>But those comforting words did nothing to ease the horror as Kanata's words echoed in her mind, and she heard the depth of the malice buried in her voice. The idle, hidden threat that if she found that 'bug' flying again, she'd prefer to squash it over driving it away.</p><p>"Wataru," Ren said in a ragged little voice. "I'm - scared."</p>
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